LA STAGE Alliance Launches SpaceFinderLA.org
This summer, LA Stage Alliance launches SpaceFinderLA.org, a free online searchable database of Los Angeles County rehearsal, performance, and multipurpose spaces for dance, music, theatre and special events such as parties and fundraisers.
Developed in partnership with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and Fractured Atlas, SpaceFinderLA.org will increase public awareness of cultural venues in LA County and facilitate connections between creative people and creative spaces. Fractured Atlas is providing the back end programming and infrastructure for the database, which was originally created for the NYC Performing Arts Spaces Web site, and is modeled after Fractured Atlas' successful PhillySpaceFinder.com and BayAreaSpaces.org Web sites.
SpaceFinderLA.org launches with more than 250 listings of venues of all sizes and types, ranging from schools, churches and community centers to major theatrical and musical venues. The site allows users to quickly find exactly the right venue among a rich array of search options. Listings include photos, custom descriptions, and other touches to give users the "feel" of a space as well as a map interface providing clear directions to venues. SpaceFinderLA.org will increase the awareness of creative spaces and use of these venues by artists, arts organizations and the general public.
"There has long been a need in the community for a resource like SpaceFinderLA; we often get calls from individuals needing a space to perform, conduct a reading, hold a board meeting." said Terence McFarland, Executive Director of LA Stage Alliance. "Having a one stop shop for spaces for the creative community will bring us all closer together and hopefully generate some revenue for spaces that might not always be top of mind for potential renters. We look forward to continuing to expand the range of listings on the site. I'm thrilled to continue our history of serving the community by leveraging technology to aggregate resources." McFarland added.
SpaceFinderLA.org is a powerful resource for people searching for venues as well as for venues that list themselves on the site. Users will be able to sort venues by categories including discipline, size, cost, physical features, equipment and amenities, location and floor type. Venues manage their profiles easily through a well-designed administrative back-end.
Venues can post their listings for free, and creating and managing an account profile is easy. Says Jennifer Vaughn, co-owner Live Arts Los Angeles, which has a listing on SpaceFinderLA.org , "The idea behind starting Live Arts Los Angeles was to be a well-used home for L.A.'s diverse and dynamic performing arts community. SpaceFinderLA helps us advance this goal by playing 'matchmaker' between venues like ours and the artists looking for space to create, refine, and share their work. Posting our profile on SpaceFinderLA was easy, and going through the questionnaire helped us create a thorough description of what our space offers. SpaceFinderLA is an excellent and much-needed service for our community."
In the coming months, SpaceFinderLA.org will add a centralized, online rental calendar and reservation engine which will provide participating venues with a state of the art online tool for managing rentals, collecting payment, issuing refunds and managing other aspects of rental transactions. In addition to Los Angeles County, Fractured Atlas is launching sibling sites in Washington DC, Minnesota, Atlanta and Sacramento.
LA Stage Alliance is a non-profit organization that has been empowering artists and engaging audiences since 1975, serving over 500 arts organizations annually, working mainly in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura, as well as directly serving over 10,000 individual artists, through community building, collaborative marketing, audience and professional development and advocacy.
Additional support for LA Stage Alliance programs provided by:
California Arts Council; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The James Irvine Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; The Shubert Foundation and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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